Celic: Kosovo does not meet the criteria for membership in the Council of Europe

Dusko Celic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Kosovska Mitrovica, points out that Kosovo neither formally nor substantively meets the criteria for membership in the Council of Europe because, in formal terms, it is not a state, and substantively, instead of respecting human rights, Pristina institutions represent an instrument for their violation.

Celic commented on yesterday's vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, where Kosovo received a recommendation for membership in that international institution, and stated that, in his opinion, it was a continuation of an unprincipled game.

"In order not to say a dirty game, in which the Council of Europe's working bodies are now involved. To be clear, Kosovo neither formally nor substantively meets the criteria to be a member of the Council of Europe – substantively because it is not a state, and a member of the Council of Europe can only be a state. It is a territory that, according to Resolution 1244 and the Constitution of Serbia, is part of the sovereign state of the Republic of Serbia," Celic said.

Regarding the substantive content aspect, as Celic says, Kosovo does not meet any conditions in terms of values because there is no respect for human rights.

"Kosovo not only does not respect any human rights, but unfortunately, these self-proclaimed authorities systematically impose violence on the remaining Serbian population, so they not only fail to protect human rights, to which they and the international community are obligated on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, but they also represent a factor of instability and a factor of human rights violations," he emphasizes.

He notes that in the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as far as could be determined, there is no mention of Kosovo's obligation to submit a draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities to their Constitutional Court for a ruling on its constitutionality.

"As far as I can see, there is a two-thirds political majority. I think it is difficult to expect a different decision in the Council of Ministers, it is clear that the political decision of Western centers has been made to 'reward' Kosovo for everything it does, under quotation marks, in Kosovo and Metohija by granting them membership in the Council of Europe," Celic concludes.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a recommendation yesterday for Kosovo's admission to membership in that organization, with 131 votes in favor, 29 against, and 11 abstentions.